China EB3 Priority Date 2026: Closing In on EB-2

China EB-3 has been on a quiet march and reached a Final Action Date of 01JAN22 in the August 2026 Visa Bulletin. That puts it only about four months of priority dates behind the china eb2 cutoff of 01SEP21. For a China-born applicant, the gap between the two categories has nearly closed. Here is the verified movement.

Verified China EB-3 Final Action Dates

From August 2024 to August 2026, China EB-3 cleared roughly a year and a half of priority dates. After holding at 01DEC20 through the back half of 2025, it resumed climbing in 2026 and landed at 01JAN22 by August. That late-2026 acceleration is the signal that numbers were still flowing into the category.

China EB-3 vs China EB-2

The two cutoffs are close but sit in different years. Both draw from the same 7% per-country employment allocation, yet EB-2 and EB-3 run on separate demand and number flows, so their cutoffs move to their own rhythm. A China applicant with a 2021 priority date could be current under either category right now — which is a rare, genuinely good position to be in.

Reading the movement

The freeze at 01DEC20 through late 2025, then the renewed push in 2026, is normal bulletin behavior. Cutoffs react to how many numbers are released each month against how much demand builds. The planning fact for China EB-3 applicants is simply the verified current cutoff, 01JAN22. If your priority date is before that, you are current for final action this month. Watch the two China lines side by side in the Visafig archive — when they cross, the “which category is faster” question finally gets an answer.